Calling all Career Practitioners in Toronto and the GTA – come one, come all!

• Are you interested in networking with members of Career Professionals of Canada?
• Want to learn more about our professional membership and Certification programs?
• Would you like the opportunity to meet other local members face-to-face?

Then join us on Tuesday, November 22nd between 6 and 8 PM to connect with our Toronto area Ambassador, Kellan Beck.

Non-members and PROFESSIONAL members alike are invited to take part in our very first “Community Meet-up” hosted in downtown Toronto (location to be determined dependent upon registrations received).

Come on down to the city to introduce yourself, ask questions, and enjoy the opportunity to build new connections.

• This is a free event for all participants.
• Refreshments may be purchased from the resident vendor(s).

More details will be shared as they become available here: Community Meet-Up – CPC Toronto Area Open House

We look forward to connecting with you then!

Did you know that the CPC website offers links to both CPC and Canadian Career Industry events? As well, you can view both pages in the ‘List’ format or a monthly ‘Calendar View’ by clicking on the calendar icon in the upper right-hand corner.

In the Canadian Career Industry calendar, we invite you to share your event with our membership and visitors. Whatever the business occasion – Trade Show, Celebration, Workshop, Conference, or Seminar – you are welcome to showcase it in that section.

In the CPC Calendar, you can easily follow links and stay up-to-date on such topics as:

• Certification courses
• Tele-seminars
• Tele-networking sessions
• Course registration reminders and deadlines
• CPC operational notices, including office closures etc.

If you have something special that you would like to share, please use the following form to submit your information with all relevant details and available links:

http://www.careerprocanada.org/submit-an-event/

We look forward to connecting with you!

Whether working full-time for an organization or developing your own business, volunteering is an excellent strategy for sharing your knowledge, expanding your reach, and making an impact in the career professionals’ industry.  At CPC, we offer a wide range of positions that include:

• Certification Assessors (Must be CRS, CIS, CCS certified.)
• CPC News & Views Contributors
• CPC Ambassadors
• CPC Blog Posters

“My volunteer activity with CPC has done more to benefit me
than the organization itself…”
~ Lynda Margaret, Added Value Resumes – Read more.

A volunteer position with CPC requires a limited time commitment each month and is entirely dependent upon your schedule and availability. For more volunteer information please visit the member area online or contact us.

“…Being a member of CPC is a step in the right direction, but volunteering in some capacity will give you and your business a higher level of visibility and credibility.”
~ Daisy Wright, The Wright Career Solution – Read more.

A guest blog by Laura James, Head of Content at Inside Jobs—a career exploration website.

Informational interviews are awesome networking tools – but they can be hard to get, time consuming, and they can be awkward…its not comfortable to reach out to strangers. Social media is changing that. In the business world, like in many other areas, social media is breaking down barriers and changing social dynamics to permit more casual relationships with people you don’t know.

Seize this change – use it to your advantage by intertwining your client’s job search with their general career exploration— it will help advance both their immediate job search and their long-term happiness. Here’s how to get started:

1. Job search today needs to be focused. When your client finds a field they, have them dig deep. For while it’s good to have an open mind, not focusing on a particular area keeps job search at the surface level of many industries. This means that you’re looking at only the most visible opportunities, and your client is competing with the maximum amount of other job seekers.
2. Clarity of career focus takes some introspective work. Help your client determine their career goals: What are their valued skills? What do they like doing? What possibilities does a field offer them, and do their future options look attractive? Putting in legwork upfront to figure out career preferences helps solidify focus in a given field, stops second-guessing the search, and gives your client talking points to discuss with future employers. Career Exploration websites like Inside Jobs are good starting points to figure out what opportunities exist out there for your clients.
3. With career focus in mind, look to explore it further through informational interviews. This is where job search and career exploration meet together in a lovely marriage. Informational interviews offer incredible insight into fields, while doubling as invaluable networking opportunities. They allow job seekers to chat with people already in the jobs they want, simultaneously feeling out whether they will like that job and connecting them with people who can introduce them to potential employers.
4. Get online! Have your client put their research to work and start reaching out to people in their desired fields. Be it through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or other social media sites, there are waves of people actively engaging in online conversations – your client doesn’t need to schedule coffee dates with vague acquaintances – they just need to join in the conversations.
5. Participation is key. Your client is focused, driven, has goals and is looking for help to attain them – but they shouldn’t play a “damsel in distress.” Instead, encourage them to chat with people to attain new perspectives on their career path. They should actively participate in the conversations to determine if their “interviewees” can help them learn how to attain their goals. This is how traditional informational interviews work, but enacting this process through social media is a more efficient, casual, and less connection-driven process.

Networking through informational interviews is a great job search technique and you need to take responsibility and shoulder the process if you’re going to be successful. With the continuing development of social media, job seekers can now gain the same benefits of informational interviews with more convenience and less intimidation. With a little bit legwork and determination, your client can locate the field they want and find the backdoors in—the ones that most other job seekers are currently missing.

- Guest blog by Laura James, Head of Content at Inside Jobs—a career exploration website.

This time of year often signifies a return to reality – instilled, perhaps, by children going back to school or the days slowly but surely getting shorter. Not yet gone are the “lazy days” of summer, and yet we find ourselves automatically ramping up and preparing for an increasingly busy autumn.

What will your goals be for the second half of this year? Will you aim to build your client base? Are you thinking of adding a new service to your roster? Does your September focus include updates to your marketing plan?

Whatever your goals may be, use the natural momentum of the season and the support of CPC and fellow members to drive forward. Remember, if you’re exploring new ideas or planning strategies to reach your goals, you can always voice your questions and concerns on the PROFESSIONAL Members Career Club Forum. We’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas!

Connect with your colleagues here.

The community stagnates without the impulse of the individual.
The impulse dies away without the sympathy of the community.
~ William James

New PROFESSIONAL Members:

• Valerie Elliott Hyman
• Constance Wun
• Janice Peters

Renewing PROFESSIONAL Members:

• Brenda Collard-Mills
• Christina Epondulan
• Henock Teklemariam
• Kate Dance
• Karen Shane
• Daisy Wright

Newly Certified PROFESSIONAL Members:

• Julie McMahon, CRS